CHAPEL HILL – Actor-playwright Nilaja Sun’s timely one-woman show “No Child…” comes to PlayMakers Repertory Company Jan. 11-15, as part of the theatre’s PRC2 second stage series.
Sun was a teaching artist in the New York public school system, while also writing and performing in numerous Off-Broadway shows. She turned this experience into a rapid-fire, kaleidoscopic look at a multiethnic classroom of students — plus their parents, school administrators and staff, including a janitor and a security guard working the front door metal detector.
“‘No Child…’ is an exuberant, insightful portrait of life at fictional Malcolm X High School; a refreshingly un-cynical portrayal of some of the individuals shaping America’s next generation on the educational frontline,” said PlayMakers producing artistic director Joseph Haj. “We’re thrilled to bring Nilaja Sun to our stage for a rousing theatrical look at this hot topic.”
“No Child…” has been showered with awards, including the Obie Award, Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best New American Play and Best Solo Performance, and the US Comedy Arts Festival Award for Best Solo Show, among others. Sun’s play has been hailed as an “intelligent, clear-eyed and sometimes painfully funny take on the absurdly dysfunctional state of public education,” according to The Boston Globe. “‘No Child…’ is “in a class by itself!” raved The Washington Post. “No child left behind? Not while Nilaja Sun is around,” reported The New York Observer.
“No Child…” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. nightly and 2 p.m. on Jan. 15. Tickets are available as part of the theatre’s 2011/12 season subscription packages, or single tickets may be purchased for $10-$35. For more information, call the PlayMakers box office at (919) 962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org. PRC² shows are presented in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road.
Hal Brooks will direct. Brooks is renowned for mounting powerful solo shows, such as Pulitzer Prize finalist “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” by Will Eno. Brooks staged the original production of “No Child…,” which has played nationally and internationally to critical praise, following its year-long Obie Award-winning run Off-Broadway. He was recently named artistic director of the Cape Cod Theatre Project.
“No Child…” replaces “The Amish Project” by Jessica Dickey, as part of the PRC2 lineup, PlayMakers’ acclaimed series in which each performance is followed by artist-audience discussion. Dickey had to cancel her appearance due to other obligations. Following “No Child…” the current PRC2 season concludes with the world premiere of Ellen McLaughlin and Sarah Kirkland Snider’s “Penelope” (April 25-29).
PlayMakers, the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, is based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. The Drama League of New York has named PlayMakers one of the best regional theaters in America.
Web site: www.playmakersrep.org
PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 962-5359, cmahan@email.unc.edu
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr (919) 962-4093, spurrk@email.unc.edu